The Importance of Practice

"I promise not to be distracted by…ooh, shiny!"




I posted the above comment to my status on Facebook and received
numerous comments and "likes." We all laugh at this because we know how
easy it is to be distracted by the smallest things despite our good
intentions.




Sadly, distraction often carries over into my prayer life. I begin to
pray and before long my thoughts have turned to the earthly realm–a
comment that was made, what I'm going to have for lunch, the chores that
need to be accomplished for the day. The list could go on and on.




I know this must grieve God's Daddy-heart. He created us. Gave us a
new life. Longs for an intimate relationship with us. But so often we
forget we've been granted a never-ending audience with the King. We
hurry through our prayer time as one more thing to check of our To-Do
List, then pack Him up until we need Him again. The truth is that He is
always with us, so why do we ignore His presence?




Maybe a better question is: how can we remedy the problem? The only
thing that seems to effectively handle the distraction issue for me is
practice–what a 17th century monk by the name of Brother Lawrence called
practicing the presence of God.




I've learned that when I'm mindful  of His presence and speak to Him
constantly throughout the day, He transforms the hectic into the serene
and the chaotic into the divine. He makes each act, no matter how simple
and mundane, a holy task, ordained by God as His plan for me at that
moment in time.




As a piano teacher, I've seen the difference in results between those
students who practice and those who don't. The same things applies to
our spiritual lives. If we long for a deeper walk with God, we simply
must practice. We must discipline ourselves to be constantly aware of
His presence. We must carry on a constant conversation with Him. Only
then will our relationship with God become the deeply intimate
connection that we and He desires.




You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is
fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm
16:11, ESV)